Separable slider for slide fasteners



J 1954 a. SNYDER SEPARABLE SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Filed Sept. 8,1949 INVENTOR Belg 4min Z. fdcr' v 4/ ga teners.

Patented June 22, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEPARABLE SLIDER FORSLIDE FASTENERS Benjamin L. Snyder, Roxbury, Mass.

Application September 8, 1949, Serial No. 114,535

3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a slider for interlocking stringerfasteners more commonly known as zippers and more particularly to aslider which may readily be removed from the fastener at any point onthe stringer where it may happen to be.

It frequently happens in using slide fasteners that things get caughtbetween the interlocking fasteners or between the slider and stringer asthe slider is being moved for opening or closing the fasteners, causingthe slider to get stuck or "frozen and often making it necessary to tearor break either the slider, fastener, or elements which happen to getcaught by the slider or its It is recognized that a number of removablesliders have been designed to overcome this objectionable feature inslide fasteners with more or less degrees of success. The presentarrangement is an improvement in this type of device in construction,utility, operation and cost.

; position of a fastening screw, fastening the two slider parts whichcan be positively held together i with the desired tolerance betweenparts.

A further feature of the present invention is that the slider is so heldtogether that while it has the same general size as sliders commonlyused for the same purposes, it is far stronger and more durable becauseof its physical construction. Other and further advantages of thepresent invention will be more readily understood from the descriptionin the specification set forth below when taken in connection with thedrawings showing embodiments of the invention in which:

Figure 1 shows a plap view of the slider of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a side view of the slider shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the front piece of the slider as it appearsfrom the opposite side shown in Figure 1.

slider as viewed facing the inner side.

Figure 6 is a modification of the element shown in Figure 4 in similarposition.

Figure 7 is a modification of the element shown in Figure 5 in similarposition, and Figure 8 is a perspective view of the element shown inFigure 4 looking down on the inner face and side edge.

In the arrangement indicated in the figures, the slider comprises twomain parts, a front element l and a rear element 2 which formsubstantially interlocking but separable halves of the slider. Theelement I which is shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, i, and 8 has a front planarsection or wall 3 which may be rounded at the top as indicated at i, andtapered at the sides 5 and 5 to a bottom transverse end 7. In thedescription to follow, the top of the slider and of the halves is theend of the slider from which the opened stringer emerges. Projectingnormally from the front wall 3 at the side edges 5 and t are the flanges8 and 9 respectively which when. the halves l and 2 are locked arespaced as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The sides 1 and 8 with the innersurface of the wall 3 provide the guide ways by which the fasteners areinterlocked one with the other. This front half may be provided with anyof the usual types of handles I!) which is pivoted or hinged asindicated by the loop or eyelet H mounted on the front of the case. Thehandle it may also be provided with the usual arm ll! projecting througha slot [3 in the wall 3 whereby the slider may be locked in place whenthe handle is down, so that it cannot be moved until the handle has beenraised to bring the projection 12 out of its position in the slot.

The back half 2 of the slider has a shape corresponding to the shape ofthe front half I, and also is provided at its side with two normallyprojecting flanges id and i5 from the side edges it and il matching theflanges 8 and 9 of the piece i. While the flanges 23, 9, M, and it mayall be of the same height, all that is needed in fact is to have thesecomplementary and so also other projections which will be describedlater, so that the same size and shape of opening is provided at bothends of the slider to permit the fasteners to be passed through andlocked in position with one another.

In the present invention, the front and back halves are each individualelements and not sub- .l'ect to be pried apart to lessen tension, as inone piece slider with walls bent in parallel relation. These are,however, held together with interfitting members located along a centralmedian line in the slider. As indicated in Fig ure 4, on the inside ofthe front half of the (=5 slider there is provided a T-shaped boss orprojection l8 symmetrical with the center line of the slider. This bosscomprises a top cross member 19 at the edge of the slider and a member21% joined to it extending in the direction of the center line of theslider. These two elements form the T-shaped projection from the innerface of the front element I. It will be noted that the top member itextends to the upper edge of the slider and is symmetrically located onboth sides of the center line which is indi cated in Figure 4 by thedotted line A. On each side of the end of this cross element the openfasteners are drawn and then enter the guide way bounded on the innerside first by the outer edges of the member it and by the end corners ofthe element into which the stem is of the T fit. Spaced just below theend of the stern member 2!} of the T is a shield-like element 2! whichalso projects from the inner face of the front member i.' Thisshield-like member 25 is positioned symmetrically along the line A. andforms the continuation. of the inner sides of the guide Way or channeljust mentioned through which the open fasteners pass to be joinedtogether just below the vertex 22 of this shield member. The flanges 8and 9 which begin just slightly above the Vertex 22 of the shield formthe other side of the channel guides. The shieldlike element 22 has ahole 23 centrally located in it through which the fastening element forthe two halves of the slider extends as will be presently explained. Thetop edge 2% of the shield 2i is straight and parallel with the lowercross edge 25 of the stem element 28 thereby forming a recess 26 betweenthe side edge or walls in any position with respect to the vertical,horizont-al, back or front.

On the back half 2 of the slider, there is a similar shield-shapedmember 32 which is substantially the same shape and size as theshieldshaped member 3i, and fits over this member when the two halvesare brought together. Above the shield-shaped member is a squarecornered U-shaped projection 53 formed with a cross bar member 34 andtwo upwardly extending arms 35 and 36 forming a recess 3'5. The heighthof the shields 2| and 32 may be the same or complementary but the barelement 3d of the U-shaped member 33 must fit into the recess 26 betweenthe walls 24 and 25 in a snug fashion. The lower edge 38 of the bardefines the upper side of the shield 32 and projects upward beyond theshield the distance necessary for the U-shapec member to seat itselffully against the inner face of the wall 3 of the front member. Thecavity 3'! formed by the three sides of the U-shaped member will snuglyfit around the projecting stem 2!] of the T and the top cross elementiii of the T will also fit snugly over the ends 3t of the side arms ofthe U-shaped member.

In the structure just described, it will be noted particularly fromFigure 3 that the two sections of the slider at the top central portioncontact one another from the tip 22 of the shield to the very top of theslider which is practically the entire distance in which the fastenersare apart from each other. The two halves are held together by threadingwith a comparatively fine thread the hole ii) in the shield element 32which aligned with the hole 23 in the shield element 2 i, and insertinga thread stud which has an enlarged head 52 to which is pivoted a handle.3 by which the stud may be screwed into the threaded hole 43 to hold orclamp the two halves of the slider together. The threaded shield 32 maybe thicker than the shield 2| to permit a greater number of threads forthe two halves of the slider to be separated without the slider comingapart. The handle 43 is provided with arcuate recesses 4i so that whenthe handle 43 is laid down as indicated in Figure 1 against the face ofthe slider, it will lock in position around the eyelet l I so that itcannot be further turned. The handle 43 is not exactly semi-circular butthe distance across the end from the point 45 to lie is short enough sothat when the handle is turned, it will just about clear the eyelet I I.The turning will of course take place with the handie raised normal tothe face of the sliderso that clearance only need to be considered withregard to the points if and @5 which are close to the surface of theface of the slider whether the handle is down or up.

In the use of the device as described above, the slider is applied tothe line of fasteners in the normal fashion. When it becomes necessaryto free the slider because of some material catching in between thefasteners and the slider, or because of the fasteners not being properlyclosed, the screw handle 33 is raised and the screw 4i thereby turned ina direction to separate the slider. It is not necessary for the screw tobe removed in most cases, since a turning of four or five turns willpermit the two halves of the slider to be separated suificiently so thatthe slider can be entirely removed from the fastener. The defect causingthe binding of the slider may then be removed and the slider replaced.In replacing the slider, it is desirable to turn the screw 4| to aposition where the two elements are not tightly held together which maybe half a turn or a turn short of the ultimate desired position. In thisposition, the slider will still close the fasteners. The slider shouldbe slid a little along the fasteners so as to permit it to line itselfup properly. The slider should then be completely closed and the handleplaced down fiat in a position shown somewhat in Figure 1. It will, ofcourse, be appreciated that the handle can be laid down on either sideof the head so that very carefully adjustment of the clamping of the twohalves may be made. In Figure 1, the handle shows five arcuate groovesso that there are therefore ten possible positions for one turn of thescrew. By this the halves of the slider may be very accurately andcarefully adjusted to position and tightened without any diflicultywhatsoever and this has been found of great practical value in thesmooth operation of the slider on the fastener.

Other comparable designs of the two slider halves may be made. TheU-shaped member and its insert may have parallel sides or the sides maybe inclined slightly at an angle say 10 or 15 as long as the sides fitsnugly and other comparable interlocking arrangements may be used. InFigures 6 and 7, such a modification is shown. Here the shield andinterlocking T arrangement shown in the other figures are not used.Instead a cross bar 59 corresponding to the cross bar l9 projects fromthe inner face 5| of the front half of the slider. This cross bar willbe the heighth that the two inner faces of the two halves of the slider51 and 52 (Figure 7) are separated from each other. The cross piece 50which is at the edge of the half 5! will match or conform to theshoulder 53 formed at the top section of the half 52. On the front half5| (Figure 6) between the top cross piece 50 and the shield element 54is a recess 55 which is of such a size as to receive the projectingflange 56 running across the top of the shield element 5'! in the backhalf section 52 of the slider. The hole 58 is threaded while the hole 59is not threaded, both holes being aligned with each other when the twohalves of the slider are put together. The shields 54 and 51 and the topcross pieces 50 and 56 form one edge of the channel while the sideflanges t and GI form the other sides. The lockin means in Figures and 6in many cases will serve sufliciently. These locking means of Figures 5and 6 will prevent disengagement along the center line of the slider butmay not be quite as effective as the arrangement of Figures 1 to 5 inpreventing disengagement along a transverse direction when the fasteningor clampin screw is not in place. This, however. may be overcome byputting a boss on the top side edge of 56 to engage in a correspondingrecess in the side of bar 50. The structure of Figure 1 to Figure 5 willprovide alignment in two directions and therefore always locate thescrew holes in alignment so that there will be no diliiculty of puttingthe two pieces together and clamping them in place.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A slider for interlocking stringer fasteners comprising two platemembers forming front and back walls with inwardly extending sideflanges forming the sides of the slider guide way through which thestringers thread from a separated position at the top of the slider toan interlocking position at the bottom of the slider, means projectingfrom the inside of said plates in the central region thereof at the topof the slider having complementary interengaging elements spacing andinterlocking said plates and forming the inner side walls of theentering guide way for the separate stringer parts and a clampin screwhaving a threaded shank passing through one of said plates in saidcentral region and engaging an aligned threaded hole in said projectingmeans in the central region of the other plate holding said platestogether, said clamping screw having a pivoted flat arcuate handlepivoted in an axis parallel to said plate and with spaced recesses inthe edges of the handle and fixed means projecting from one of theplates adapted to be engaged in any of the recesses in the edge of thehandle for preventing the clamping screw from turning.

2. A slider for interlocking stringer fasteners comprising two platemembers forming front and back walls with inwardly extending sideflanges forming the sides of the slider guide way through which thestringers thread from a separated position at the top of the slider toan interlocking position at the bottom of the slider, means projectingfrom the inside of said plates in the central region thereof at the topof the slider hav-- ing complementary interengaging elements spacing andinterlocking said plates and forming the inner side walls of theentering guide way for the separate stringer parts comprising ashieldshaped boss on one plate having a threaded hole centrally locatedtherein aligned with a hole through the other plate and a clamping screwhaving a threaded shank engaging said holes, said clamping screw havinga pivoted fiat arcuate handle pivoted in an axis parallel to said plateand with spaced recesses in the edges of the handle and fixed meansprojecting from one of the plates adapted to be engaged in any of therecesses in the edge of the handle for preventing the clamping screwfrom turning.

3, A slider for interlocking stringer fasteners comprising two platemembers forming front and back walls with inwardly extending sideflanges forming the sides of the slider guide way through which thestringers thread from a separated position at the top of the slider toan interlocking position at the bottom of the slider, means projectingfrom the inside of said plates in the central region thereof at the topof the slider having complementary interengaging elements spacing andinterlocking said plates and forming the inner side walls of theentering guide way for the separate stringer parts and a clamping screwhaving a threaded shank passing through one of said plates in saidcentral region and engaging an aligned threaded hole in said projectingmeans in the central region of the other plate holding said platestogether, said clamping screw having a pivoted fiat arcuate handlepivoted in an axis parallel to said plate and with spaced recesses inthe edges of the handle, a fixed support projecting from the plate onthe side where the arcuate handle is pivoted, said support beingpositioned to engage any of said spaced recesses when the pivoted handleis turned down in a fiat position on said plate and a pull tab elementengaging said fixed support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 861,627 Logan July 30, 1907 2,082,988 Taskila June 8, 19372,304,082 Gerstman Dec. 8, 1942 2,405,509 Marinsky Aug. 6, 19462,486,401 Gerstman Nov. 1, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date209,053 Germany of 1909

